Coming from a single parent and low-income household, I was forced to learn the power of persistence earlier than most children my age. My mother faced challenges from every corner she turned, and even though she tried to hide them from my sister and me, we were able to see them anyway and forced to deal with them. Watching how my mother faced every challenge with a brave face led me to push myself every day so that I could provide a better future for myself, her, and my future children. One way I will push myself to create a better world for us will be through pursuing education. I plan to be an ESL teacher in order to help serve my Spanish-speaking community. Having been a native Spanish speaker myself, the help I received from my community through every aspect of life is something I wish to repay back. While being an ESL teacher, I plan to teach students more than just English; I will teach them empathy in order to help them better understand students who have different and/or harder circumstances than them. As an active member of Hispanic Honor Society, I am currently helping tutor younger students at my school in their English classes and helping them learn the language in different ways than their teachers. As I graduate and further pursue education, I plan to continue helping Spanish speakers with their English journey. I will continue to advocate for better programs for ESL children, better working conditions for immigrant workers, and helping Latinos get the education they deserve.

From a young age, I’ve been drawn to the transformative power of education. Coming from schools where the quality of the building may not have been top tier but the teachers were. Teachers who would pour their heart and soul into ensuring that everyone of their kids was taught no matter what. I am always so enthralled when teachers are able to take such mundane topics and transform them. I believe education is a foundation for a thriving society, and I can't wait to contribute to the growing minds of the next generation. My love for education was not born on its own; it was fostered by the many wonderful teachers who gave me their all even when they had none left to give. I still clearly recall my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Martinez, who was a kind woman who made sure all of her kids were as bright as she was. She saw that I was wearing shoes that fell apart with shirts and pants that were two sizes too big and realized that my mother could not afford to buy school clothes for the next year. She offered to buy me some school clothes with her own money and time. My mother was hesitant to agree, afraid of what might be said about a single mother who had to rely on teachers to clothe her children, but Mrs. Martinez and her warm heart ensured my mother everything was fine. The next day she picked me up and drove me around with her daughter. I was half expecting to just go to Walmart or a thrift store and purchase the clothes, but she pulled into Denny's and told me the plan for the day. We would eat and then go to a mall that had price ranges far too high for my mind to comprehend after having lived paycheck to paycheck my whole life, then we would get pizza and play at Chuck E Cheese. Mrs. Martinez didn't need to take me to buy clothes for school; she didn't need to get me breakfast and then take me out to play, but she did. I had overlooked her kindness when I was younger, just being moderately appreciative because I got pizza and new clothes, but now the kindness she repaid me is something I won't ever be able to do. A small action to some was the biggest thing in the world for my family. To me, becoming a teacher will not just be about teaching literature and writing; it is also about teaching kindness. Being a teacher means I can help teach children kindness, caring, and empathy. To this day, I cherish the jacket that was purchased on our little outing, and I'm reminded of the time a teacher cared for me in more ways than just the classroom.

My parents served their time in the military for a year before being honorably discharged because of their disabilities. My mother was diagnosed with severe depression after suffering through severe separation anxiety, and my father had been dealt a hard hand by all the combat injuries he sustained. The military took many things from my parents—parts of their personalities I will never get to see because it was stolen. Being born to veteran parents meant things were different for me; there were lessons taught through 'tough love' and there were lessons learned through having to navigate the aftermath of their year in the army. My father fell victim to constant headaches from a bomb exploding in front of him. Anytime I wanted to play, I was met with an angry man who just wanted rest. My mother grew severe attachment issues from having been away from her family, and now all she wanted was to smother my sister and me in her love. It was hard having to juggle being a child and tiptoeing on the eggshells around my family. My father struggled for years with his demons from the military; there would be countless nights where I could hear him toss and turn before picking up the phone to call for help. There was a night like no other when my mother nearly let her depression win, and we had to stay with my grandmother whilst she recovered. It was hard watching this all happen when I was just barely learning my multiplication, and how could I explain this to others? How could I explain my dad had bad dreams that had him yelling for help? That my mom loved me so much it almost took her from me? The military took a lot from me but it also gave me so much more. I have uncles and aunts all over the country who do anything for my sister and me at the drop of a hat. I was taught basic self-defense by my mother that I would then go on to share with any other girl who asked. I was taught to never take disrespect from anyone and to stand my ground even when it was scary. I have chosen to pursue a career in education, though it may sound silly compared to a soldier. There was one lesson my mother taught me that she didn't learn in the military. There are many grusome things that happen in the world; it is dark and it is scary, but when she told her high school teacher that she was enslisting, the final lesson that her teacher had was to hold onto her kindness. The military took so much from my mother, but it would never take her kindness. Being kind while in the trenches of Iraq was something my mother thought she wouldn't achieve, but little did she know that it would be the simplest thing of it all. My mother clung onto the small sentence from a teacher forever, and that is why she helps any stranger on the street and feeds the stray dogs of our neighborhood. Like the teacher that helped my mother stay kind, I will not just teach my students Shakespere; I will teach them kindness, love, and empathy.